Kraken Clears Dubai's Last Licensing Hurdle and Sets Up Dirham Trading
Kraken is about to start trading inside the United Arab Emirates. Its parent company, Payward, just cleared the final stage of Dubai's licensing process — full market approval from the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority.
What actually opens up
UAE clients will be able to trade spot and margin in dirham-denominated pairs, and move money in and out directly in AED. Dubai's regulator lists Payward FZCO as an authorised virtual asset service provider, and the license was issued on Oct. 6, covering management and investment services plus broker-dealer activity. A go-live is targeted for the coming weeks.
Full market approval is the last step in VARA's licensing track and authorises regulated activity to begin in Dubai. It follows preliminary clearance handed over in May 2026, which let the entity finish operational set-up ahead of client onboarding.
It is not just a spot exchange
The rollout also covers on-chain staking and xStocks, with retail investors included under Payward's license. Institutional clients get OTC spot trading and Kraken Prime. Crypto derivatives and a broader set of yield products are expected later in 2026 and into 2027, subject to approval.
Arjun Sethi, co-CEO of both Payward and Kraken, said UAE clients will get the same order book and multi-asset coverage the exchange runs in every other market.
Dubai's licensed roster keeps growing
VARA's registry now lists 58 licensed providers, up from 49 active companies in May 2026. Payward says it holds more than 100 licences and registrations worldwide, spanning Europe, the Americas, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East.
Why this matters beyond Dubai
A licensed dirham venue gives regional traders a compliant place to park and move funds instead of routing everything offshore. It also hands Kraken a foothold in a market where the licence, not the product lineup, was the bottleneck. Newly opened jurisdictions are usually followed by local onboarding pushes, so this launch is worth watching.